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Thursday, 21 January 2016

Film Review - 'The Lost Bladesman'

The Three Kingdoms
period of ancient China was a point in history defined, largely, by
violence. It was a period of almost continuous conflict and constantly
changing loyalties, as three different kingdoms struggled for dominance.
Sure, it may not have been particularly pleasant period of history to
have to actually live through - but, as a source for some great stories,
you would probably have a hard time finding any point in history with
as much potential.

The usual source of inspiration for these stories would have to would have to be the original - Romance of the Three Kingdoms,
a fictionalised account of this period of war and strife that has come
to be considered one of the classic works of Chinese literature. It is
the elements that make up this original work which often serve as the
basis for modern interpretations - particularly memorable sequences, for
example, or the portrayal of certain characters.

This particular example, The Lost Bladesman, once again seems to draw its inspiration directly from Romance of the Three Kingdoms
- telling a story which is, essentially, an interpretation of a single
chapter from that sprawling epic (for trivia fans, the chapter in
question is one informatively titled 'Guan Yu Slays Six Generals Through
Five Passes).

After being separated from his own Lord, Liu Bei, Guan Yu (Donnie
Yen) finds himself temporarily entering the service of the Emperor's
adviser, Cao Cao (Jiang Wen) - a man skilled in the art of manipulation,
and who is commonly considered to be the true power behind the throne.
In an effort to win the loyalty of a man known to be a powerful warrior,
Cao Cao immediately sets about lavishing Guan Yu with gifts, and the
promise of power and authority if he would officially abandon his lord.
Despite his best efforts, though, Cao Cao is unable to shake Guan Yu's
loyalty to Liu Bei - and, when the time finally comes for Guan Yu to
depart, Cao Cao keeps his word and allows him to do so. Others in the
Emperor's court are angered by this, though - believing that Guan Yu is
simply too dangerous to be allowed to leave, and that letting return to
Liu Bei would only result in more conflict in the future.

Despite Cao Cao's apparent determination to keep his word, soldiers
are sent to prevent Guan Yu from reaching his Lord - and Guan Yu,
believing that Cao Cao has betrayed him, is forced to fight his way
through in increasing number of dangerous adversaries.

The Lost Bladesman is, in many ways, a very impressive film.
It is often a visually stunning film - one that is well able to make
good use of some fantastic sets and filming locations.The film's many
action-sequences are also, quite often, very well-choreographed and
genuinely entertaining - as you would likely expect from a film of this
type. The overall style of these action-sequences is also very
impressive - toning down the occasionally overly flamboyant elegance of a
Wuxia film (not that there's necessarily anything wrong with that
either, of course) in favour of something a little more 'realistic'.

Even with only the most cursory knowledge of the source material, you
would have to be aware of exactly how important the right casting would
be for a film like this (these are, after all, well-known characters in
China). But, thankfully, the film's cast also do a great job, overall.
Donnie Yen has earned a great deal of, entirely justified, respect for
his work as a choreographer in martial arts films, over the years - but,
it would be possible to make the argument that many of his appearances
on screen are based more on his skill as a martial-artist than on his
qualities as an actor. Behind the scenes rumours about the making of
this film even suggest that Donnie Yen, himself, almost turned down the
role of Guan Yu when it was offered to him because he wasn't convinced
that he could play the part. In the end, though, he proves to be well
able to handle the mix of stoic determination and inner turmoil which
makes up the character of Guan Yu - and, of course, his already
mentioned skills as a martial-artist are put to great use.

Similarly, the casting of a character like Cao Cao would, I imagine,
have to be treated very carefully. He is a complex figure, after all -
intensely charismatic and highly manipulative. It's a role that seems to
practically demand someone capable of the right level of gravitas.
Though here, too, the character is well served by the performance of
Jiang Wen.

There are so many great elements which, taken individually, would seem to suggest that The Lost Bladesman
would be destined to become a genuinely great film. There is, in fact,
only a single major issue that I had with this film, in the end -
though, unfortunately, it proved to be a fairly significant one.

The film's basic structure, and pacing, became an increasingly
serious issue as we moved toward the end - with the film moving from
scene to scene, and plot-point to plot-point, so rapidly that I often
had genuine difficulty following what has happening on-screen. Once Guan
Yu sets out on his journey to track down Liu Bei, the film enters a
sequence of scenes where a series of new characters are introduced only
to serve as obstacles in his path - obstacles which, of course, Guan Yu
is required to fight his way through. These characters were introduced
for no other reason than to be cut down by Guan Yu - and, the entire
sequence became increasingly disjointed as any semblance of plot or
story as lost in a series of (admittedly still very entertaining) action
sequences. It got so bad, in fact, that I often wasn't entirely sure if
Guan Yu was actually still intent on returning to his distant Lord, or
if he had instead set off on a 'soldier killing detour'. I wouldn't have
thought it would be possible for a film like this to be so focused on
action that it actually became a detriment to the film, as a whole -
but, that seems to be what happened, here.

In the end, as impressive as some of the individual elements of this
film may have been, they all added up to something which is not quite as
satisfying as you would hope. Though, all that being said, if you have
an interest in this period of history, or if you are just a fan of
martial arts films, it is still well worth your time.